Effect of Myo-inositol and N-acetyl-L-cysteine on processed human spermatozoa for use in modern methods of fertility treatment

Background and aims: Today, the prevalence of structural and functional disorders of sperm and subsequently the possibility of occurrence of autism, spontaneous abortion, and infertility has increased dramatically. This study aimed to investigate the potential effects of myoinositol and N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) on the improvement of processed spermatozoa indices. Methods: In this study, 63 patients with male factor infertility were studied in Hazrat Zahra Infertility Center of Shahrekord. To do liquefaction, the semen sample was incubated at 37°C for 20 minutes. The Density Gradient Centrifugation protocol was used to process sperm. The processed sperm samples were incubated at 37°C for 20 minutes in four groups of control, myo-inositol (2 mg/mL), NAC antioxidant (10 Mm/L) and myo-inositol+NAC. All biological parameters of sperm were evaluated using Makler slide, SQA-V sperm analyzer gold version 2.48, TUNEL assay, and Toluidine blue staining. Results: In the present study, 63 men aged 22-58 years with infertility complaints were studied. The NAC group and the myo-inositol group exhibited significantly higher motility in comparison with the control group (P 0.001). The NAC group also had a significantly higher number of TUNEL-negative cells and a lower number of TUNEL-positive cells than the control group (P 0.01), but in other variables, the differences were not statistically significant. The morphology, S0, S1, S2 and staining types in the intervention groups did not show any significant difference compared to those in the control group (P 0.05). Conclusion: NAC and myo-inositol were able to improve certain indices such as sperm motility and integrity; therefore, the quality of sperm could be improved by these drugs to treat infertility.